Pneumatic tire.



A A. DENNIS.

I PNEUMATIC TIRE. APPLICATION FILED JULY 20, 1912.

Patented Sept 8, 1914,

Ill/VENT ATTORNEY WITNESSES:

ALFRED A. DENNIS, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN.

PNEUMATIC TIRE.

Specification of Letters Patent. I P atentgd Sept. 8, 1914;

Application filed July 20, 1912. Serial No. 710,647.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED A. DENNIS, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Grand Rapids, in the county of Kent and l the State of Michigan, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Pneumatic Tires, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

The object of my invention in the broadest view is to diminish to the utmost the danger of punctures and blow outs with little or no alteration in the tire structure from standard or accepted formsas far as the matter of the air tube and outer casing is concerned, and without impairment of the resilient, or elastic, or cushioning properties of the tire, and in particular my 0 ject is to provide an embodiment of my incation in the form or nature of an attachment capable of easy and convenient application to the tire structure, and for the 1 attainment of my objects, my invention consists in the tire structure and the attachment" 1 having the characteristics substantially as hereinafter specified and claimed.

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation, with parts in section illustrating my invention; Fig. '2 is a section on line ?)-b. Fig 3; Fig. 3 is a plan view of what is shown in Fig. 2.; Fig. l is a detail view in perspective showing the main features of the invention; Fig. 5 is a cross section of the auxiliary casing or attachment as I prefer to construct it.

As shown in the drawings, the tire in respect to the outer casing l and the rim to which such casing is attached and the inner or air tube 2 is of the usual and ordinary accepted construction. And as shown in Fig. 1 I inter-pose between the air tube and the outer casing toward the outer or tread side of the tire a series of blocks B which are joined together in a circumferential direction so as to be normally spaced apart or separated circumferentially. The novel construction of the blocks and manner in which they are made and secured together comprise the essential features of my invention.

Referring to the drawings it will be seen that I provide a plurality of strips 4, (i, 7, S. 9, and 10, of tire fabric, the strips being of varying widths but of the same length which is sufficient when fashioned into the auxiliary casing to entirely receive the air tube '2. The strips are placed one abo e another and cemented, vulcanized, or otherw se securely fastened together, with the w dest strip 4: at the bottom, strip 5 next in width above strip 4, terminating finally with the narrowest strip 10 at the top, as shown in Figs. '2 and 3, and forming in effect a lon solid strip of fabric, which I have denoted as a whole by letter A, and having a crosssection approximating an isosceles triangle, thickest at the center and tapering toward the side edges as best shown in Fig. 2. Of course, it'is clear that for purposes of illustration of the construction, it is necessary to magnify the thickness of the strips 4;, 5, G, 7, 8, 9, and 10, and show a less number of strips than actually used, the actual construction taking a large number of thin tire fabric strips, and not having the rough stepped surfaces to such an exaggerated extent as shown.

After the thin strips have been fastened together to form one solid fabric strip A, as explained, a series of spaced cuts 11 are made transversely therethrough, extending entirely through the fabric but terminating a short distance from each edge thereof as shown in Fig. 3. The effect of the cuts is to divide the strip A into a series of short sections B havin thickened centers and tapering sides, an connected together in a continuous series at their outer edges.

The series of connected sections B formed as described, are attached to a form or shoe 12, also of tire fabric, canvas, or other equivalent material. Shoe 12, is laid over and fitted to a form to make an open-sided hollow member adapted to receive and partially inclose the air tube 2 and the connected sections B placed on shoe 12 with the widest strip 4 in contact therewith, are securely attached thereto while it is on the form. When the sections B are attached to shoe 12, it will be apparent that the circumferential curvature that the shoe 12 must have in order to form a tube inclosure, will cause the sections to space themselves apart at their outer edges, widening the cuts 11 in such manner that they will taper from the thick centers of the sections toward the narow sides thereof; while the bending of the sections to conform to the outer surface or periphery of the shoe will form each section into an approximately crescent shaped block as shown in Fig. 4.

As shown in Fig. 5. the strip of fabric A.

mav also be cut lengthwise thereof as at 13 before attachment to shoe 12. While I have ha e indicated two such cuts, the number maybe varied at Will. lnactual pra.ctice, however,

it appears best to locate a cut '13 at each side of the longitudinal center of thefabrici.

rough and uneven surfaces. The cuts 13 BX- tend. nearly but not entirely through the fabric strip A as shown and'divide e ch section' or block' Bflinto what may be termed a central body portion 14 and .a pair of upwardly projecting tapering Wings 15 attached and for all practical purposes hinged thereto. j I From this description of the construction of the auxiliary'casing it vill be seen that when it applied to a tire and incloses the inner tube thereof there is provided; between the air tube and outer casing, a circumferentially extending series of spaced. apart or separated blocks, which are joined together in circumferential direction, sop-1 I arating the air tube a substantial distance from the outer casing and practically insurinp against blow outs andpunctures from penetrating objects, both by reason of the greater distance of the air tubet'rom the road- Way and because of the protection afforded by the auxiliary casing itself which is of material and structure to serve suchpurpose.

And at the same time'there is no impairment of the cushioning action of the, tire,

I nor any detrimental efl 'ect on the tire. by

reason of the auxiliary casing. By virtuev of the spacing apart and the flexible connection of sections or blocksB, when any portion of the tire is under stress either from the ordinary Weight of the car or from rough and uneven roads,,obstructions, projections, etc, only the section or sections in the immediate vicinity of the stress are affected and they readily yield with the tire without producing the hard and deadening effect that would occur from a solid or substantially solid auxiliary inclosure. And in this connection the importance of the cuts 13 from the standpoint of practical utility will appear. When the outer casing is flattened at any portion of its circumference by rea son of any force applied thereto; it is clear that that portion of the outer casingfoppd. site the run of the Wheel Will be forced toward the rim While the sides of thetii'e adjacent the flattened treadwill have. cornparatively little 011,110 movement. Thisvvill'i cause a'bendin'g betweeneach side and .the'

tread of the casing; By locating the cuts 13 of the sections or blocks B in the immediate vicinitywhere si ich bendings occur, itwill be seen that While mdvement oi the tread toward the rim'will move the body portion 14- of the adjacent section also, such movement of part 14: will not cause any'sirnilar or corresponding movement of the side WlIlgS 15, as they are practically merely hinged to the body portion and Will remain relatively atrest with respect to the body portion and in contact with the relatively stationary sides of the outervcasing. By

this means there is practically assured no friction or. wearing Whatever between the outer casingl and thesections or blocks B of the auxiliary casing or attachment and there is no diminution or impairment of the cushioning action'of the tire. By'inak- 'ing the cuts li-l there is also provided a conneetion between the spaces between the spaced apart blocks .18, allowing a' circulw tion of the air'in-such spaces tending to increase the cushioning action of the tire and also cooling the tire when W& 1'1 I1Q&(l111- zine fast driving.

liaviiig thus described' my invention What claim 1s:'-'

:1. A guardand s' iipportfor pneumatic tires comprising. a hollow'circurnferentially and peripherally'curved' shoeand a strip centrally thickened between the .side edges thereof, said strip fbeing transversely cut from adjacent} one side edge to adjacent the other.

side edge but leaving'the side edges for a short distancein'wardly uncut, said cuts occurring at s acedapart intervals in the length of said strip, and the said strip'be- .ing secured on the outer surface of the shoe,.substantially asted for the purpose set forth.

' 2. guard mesa-span for pneumatic tires comprised of a hollow circumferentially and peripherallycurved shoea-nd a strip posed layers of fabric material, said layers 10f fabric material decreasing in widthvvith each layer whereby there is formed a strip formed ota built up series of supercentrallythickened between the side edges thereof, a series of transverse cuts being made in said strip from adjacent one side edge of the strip to adjacent the other side Ill) edge'thereof but terminating short of the side edges, and said strip being secured to theshoe on the outer side thereof substan- =tially as described. In testimony whereotl have hereunto set my hand.

i arrnnna. haunts; Witnessesf I ALBERT A.

CHAS. J. WILLIAMso 

